Batchwood School

Batchwood School

Address: Townsend Drive, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 5RP Unique reference number (URN): 117674

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, pupils achieve well from their various starting points, including those pupils in receipt of pupil premium. Many start here needing to catch up on previous missed learning. Staff support pupils well to make progress in reading through a well-suited reading catch-up programme. By the time pupils leave at Year 11, most obtain a range of qualifications, including some with GCSEs, to ensure they secure suitable post-16 destinations.

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Achievement Expected standard

All pupils leave with a qualification in English and mathematics. There is an upward trend in pupils achieving more qualifications or with a vocational skill. Some pupils do very well and achieve GCSE grades 4 and above. Work produced in art, for example, is of a very high quality. The school has ensured that pupils now have the capability and capacity to have their knowledge extended even further. Pupils are now capable of accessing higher qualifications sooner than they currently are.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders and staff work tirelessly to ensure pupils attend school every day. Many pupils in their previous settings have found attending school difficult due to their social, emotional and mental health needs. Using highly tailored strategies, the school has succeeded in reducing absence. There is a sustained upward trend in attendance over time, including for persistent absentees. This also applies to pupils who are in receipt of pupil premium funding. The school has very few pupils not in school full-time, having halved the number of pupils on a part-time timetable. Leaders know attendance is a constant focus and are doing all they reasonably can to address this.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Behaviour is a strength. The school is calm, orderly and purposeful. There is little disruption to learning. Staff and pupil relationships are very positive. Leaders have improved their reward system of behaviour points so that it is clearer and more consistently followed. Pupils are respectful. Older pupils openly recognise that their behaviour has improved. If bullying happens, it is swiftly addressed, as is any discriminatory behaviour. Suspensions have decreased. When they occur, they are usually when pupils first arrive and are testing boundaries. Pupils engage well in lessons and many show pride in their work.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school ensures it gets to know pupils very well and quickly. This starts with effective transition and induction into the school. Leaders accurately identify pupils' needs, likes and dislikes and how to best support them emotionally. While all pupils here have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the majority are also in receipt of pupil premium or have additional vulnerabilities. Staff put a great deal of effort into building effective positive and trusting relationships with every pupil so help can be accurately targeted. Additional funding, such as pupil premium funding, successfully subsidises wider opportunities, mental health support and improves attendance. The school has enhanced its provision to ensure it provides effective therapeutic and mental health expertise readily accessible on site. This is available to all pupils and is aligned to their education, health and care (EHC) plan targets. Sensory needs are well-catered for.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Alternative provision is carefully sourced for a few pupils and appropriately chosen to meet specific needs and interests. Working closely with in-house and external professionals, including social care, the school is successful in supporting pupils to manage their feelings, cope with change and mix socially. Pupils attend school more, reduce challenging behaviours and are ready to cope with the demands of the classroom. Curriculum pathways are flexible and bespoke to meet needs and interests of all pupils.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure staff regularly check how well pupils are meeting their EHC targets. However, the system for monitoring this is cumbersome and prevents leaders from overseeing this as efficiently as possible.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders, including governors, know the school well. They have successfully stabilised the school during recent leadership changes. Leaders have ensured the school continues its upward school improvement trajectory. They have rightly prioritised ensuring that pupils are safe, have their social and emotional needs met and are attending more regularly. Achieving sustained improvements in attendance and behaviour for pupils with complex social, emotional and mental health needs represents a significant accomplishment. Pupils are now ready to learn and have the capacity to achieve more. Leaders know the next step is to improve the quality of the curriculum offer to improve outcomes even more.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors have the necessary skills and expertise to hold leaders to account. They seek and engage well with the local authority's school improvement adviser. Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively. Leaders have succeeded in bringing staff with them on their vision for this school. Staff appreciate the support they receive in carrying out their roles and are overwhelmingly positive about working here. They report positively on their workload and wellbeing. Parents are equally positive, expressing gratitude for the support the school provides for their children.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a lot of information to track school performance. However, the systems they use to monitor these standards are at times unwieldy. This can hinder efficient strategic oversight of the school's work.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have in place a very well-considered approach to personal development, mental well-being and preparing pupils for adulthood. This meets statutory guidance yet is also adapted effectively to meet the specific needs of pupils. For example, pupils regularly revisit themes around personal boundaries, consent, online safety and healthy relationships. The personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum supports pupils to meet their education, health and care (EHC) plan targets around social communication and managing friendships. In preparing pupils for life post-16, pupils are taught about how to give eye contact, greet new people and prepare for a job or college interview. Subjects such as food technology support them to gain important life skills.

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Needs attention

Pupils also develop a mature understanding of the diverse world they live in, such as through the school's 'thought for the week' programme, which often reflects national and global awareness events. They are respectful of difference. Pupils can explain the importance of freedom of speech but know that discriminatory behaviour, such as racism or misogyny, is wrong. Pupils are starting to take on more leadership roles. They also engage in fundraising activities.

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Needs attention

Pupils benefit from access to very effective mental health support. This underpins much of the positive impact the school has on its pupils' well-being. Staff increasingly use language and approaches that are sensitive to pupils' neurodivergent needs. Pupils access a qualified counsellor. Staff are well trained in therapeutic support strategies.

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Needs attention

Leaders have worked hard to ensure pupils access quality work experience and careers guidance. A clear, whole-school overview maps careers education progressively from Year 7 through to Year 11, ensuring that pupils build their knowledge and skills over time. Pupils benefit from a wide range of meaningful encounters with employers and education providers. These opportunities are carefully tracked to ensure participation and impact. Feedback from employers is positive and some students secure work post-16 as a result of this.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Some aspects of the curriculum do not have high enough expectations of what the pupils could achieve. Many are capable of more. In some subjects, how knowledge builds over time and in what detail is not clear. Staff are not routinely adapting learning activities precisely enough to match pupils' capabilities. This is also hampered by some learning targets on pupils' education, health and care (EHC) plans being too broad. Leaders recognise that improving the quality of the curriculum offer is a key next step for the school.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Overall, teachers follow the current curriculum as intended. Pupils study a broad range of subjects. Pupils access functional skills qualifications and GCSEs. All pupils study English, mathematics and science. Pupils then choose subjects linked to post-16 aspirations, interests or vocational pathways. Staff have the necessary subject expertise in these curriculum areas. If not, leaders source appropriate alternative provision. Leaders have started to work with staff to offer bespoke guidance on how to adapt learning activities and teaching approaches for their cohorts. This work is in its early stages.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have ensured there is an appropriate focus on making sure that pupils with gaps in their reading knowledge have these addressed. Pupils typically learn to improve key skills in grammar and punctuation.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

All pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan for social, emotional and mental health needs. Many pupils have had a previously disrupted education or found attending school a challenge. Staff expertly support pupils to re-engage successfully with learning. Pupils appreciate how well staff reduce their anxieties, understand their individual needs and care about them. Pupils have positive relationships with adults. The mood in school is good humoured and respectful.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Through access to well-tailored mental well-being and therapeutic support, pupils settle well into expected routines. Pupils value being in learning environments that are suitably adapted to their sensory and emotional needs. This has a calming and reassuring impact on them. It rebuilds their self-esteem and puts them in the right mindset for learning. Pupils' attendance and behaviour improves. They learn how to become more independent in navigating social situations. They make friends. Pupils are comfortable sharing any worries, including about bullying, as they know staff will help them.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils have their hopes for their future restored. This is due to well-considered work experience and careers guidance. Some pupils benefit from access to vocational qualifications, such as in plastering, motor mechanics or hair and beauty. Pupils particularly enjoy art and design and technology, which allow them to showcase their creative abilities. Most pupils secure college places or employment post-16.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils typically leave at Year 11 with the necessary qualifications, including GCSEs, for their post-16 options. Overall, most pupils progress suitably from their various starting points. However, some aspects of the curriculum design lack ambition or do not meet pupils' needs precisely enough. Some subjects do not clearly map out how knowledge builds over time and to what depth. This hinders how highly pupils could achieve.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy the wider opportunities the school offers, such as bushcraft, food technology and sport. Visits to the theatre, trying new activities like golf and residential trips all broaden their horizons.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that, in all subjects, the curriculum clearly sets out how knowledge builds over time and is sufficiently ambitious for what pupils can achieve. Leaders should ensure that pupils' targets are precise and ambitious enough to align learning activities with pupils' capabilities and therefore maximise their achievement. Leaders should ensure that their systems for tracking pupils' progress against their targets and curriculum standards provide timely, efficient strategic oversight of the school's work.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Dawn Laverick-Brown.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMI.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the assistant headteachers during the inspection. This included the special educational needs coordinator. Inspectors also spoke to staff and pupils. The lead inspector spoke to members of the governing board, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also had a meeting with the school effectiveness adviser from the local authority.

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About this inspection

All pupils who attend the school have an education health care plan. The school caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.

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About this inspection

The school currently uses six unregistered alternative providers.

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About this inspection

Headteacher: Ross Whitaker The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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What does this mean?

The type of Special Educational Needs provision provided at the school (if applicable).

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Destinations after 16

Percentage of pupils staying in education or employment for at least 2 terms after the end of secondary school (key stage 4).

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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